In the bustling atmosphere of welcoming summer, Sa Pa town, a famous tourist destination of Lao Cai, is urgently completing the final stages for the colorful Summer Festival, scheduled to open on April 29. The highlight of this series of events is the vibrant Street Festival, which promises to bring unique art performances, diverse in form and style. In particular, Sa Pa is honored to welcome an art troupe from its sister unit in China to exchange and perform, contributing to enriching the cultural picture of the festival.
Along with cultural activities, Sa Pa also focuses on upgrading and renovating famous tourist attractions, aiming to bring better experiences to visitors. The Fansipan Legend cable car area continues to be invested to ensure safety and enhance convenience. The poetic Love Waterfall, the majestic Silver Waterfall, Ham Rong Mountain with spectacular Panorama views, or the unique rail car system are also being taken care of, adding new and attractive items. Not only in the central area, but also in other communes and wards in Sa Pa, cultural and artistic programs imbued with the customs and traditions of ethnic minorities are also being actively prepared, promising to bring interesting discoveries to visitors who want to learn more about local culture.
According to many recorded surveys, Sa Pa is still the top destination, attracting both northern and southern tourists to travel in groups.
Local travel agencies are also constantly innovating, registering to organize many attractive events to attract tourists, enriching the itinerary to explore Sa Pa. The colorful Rose Festival and dramatic traditional horse races promise to be special highlights. In particular, Cat Cat village, one of the most famous community cultural destinations, is actively restoring and recreating the unique customs of the H'Mong people, while preparing for vivid live shows, recreating daily cultural life in a realistic and attractive way.
According to information from the Chairman of the People's Committee of Sa Pa town, in the first three months of the year [current year], the number of tourists to Sa Pa has reached an impressive number of over 1.5 million. With the long holiday of April 30 - May 1, the number of visitors is expected to grow dramatically, estimated at nearly 200,000. To ensure traffic safety and bring convenience to tourists, Sa Pa town has proactively coordinated closely with the Traffic Police Department - Lao Cai Provincial Police and the police forces of communes and wards to develop a plan to divert traffic, organize effective vehicle parking, and minimize possible congestion.
The 3-star segment recorded a current occupancy rate of about 70%. For the 4-star segment, most hotels were almost fully booked with occupancy rates reaching 85-90%.
Although Sa Pa currently has a total of over 10,000 hotel and homestay rooms, the room occupancy rate is still very high. Even on normal days, the room occupancy rate at hotels is often almost absolute, with international visitors accounting for a significant proportion, from 50% to 90%. With the upcoming long holiday, the excitement of the accommodation market in Sa Pa is completely predictable. Currently, up to 65% of hotel rooms have been booked by tourists, showing the strong attraction of Sa Pa during this holiday.
To avoid overload or long waiting time, during the upcoming holiday, Sa Pa will control and coordinate guests from tour operators and agents.
In preparation for the 5-day peak period of welcoming guests on the occasion of April 30 - May 1, Sa Pa has deployed a series of thorough preparations. In addition to increasing the number of professional, enthusiastic and hospitable staff, many hotels in the area are "changing their clothes", repainting walls and upgrading facilities. Due to the typical climate of Sa Pa, which is often foggy and humid, accommodation establishments pay special attention to maintaining air conditioning systems, ensuring the supply of fresh air and maintaining a warm, comfortable temperature in the rooms for visitors. In public entertainment areas, it is recorded that even during the middle of the week, the number of visitors to Rong May Glass Bridge Tourist Area, located on O Quy Ho Pass, bordering Sa Pa (in Lai Chau province), remains quite high, demonstrating the constant attraction of this area to visitors.
